


Don't judge a book by its cover

by JellyLollie



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014), Brave (2012), Frozen (2013), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Moana (2016), Rise of the Guardians (2012), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Crossover, F/M, Friendship, Humor, Romance, Sarcasm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-06-05 17:05:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15175340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JellyLollie/pseuds/JellyLollie
Summary: "So in other words, you're asking me to babysit a grown adult with the sexual restraints of a hormonal teenager.""… That is exactly what I'm asking you to do."He's an impulsive writer, she's a strict editor. They have to learn how to be a team.  Meetings and relationships happening in unexpected ways. They're all connected somehow.





	Don't judge a book by its cover

Guardians was a book publisher headed by the one and only Mister Pitchinier Black, and was responsible for launching some of the greatest names into the literary world. What started as a small back-of-the-room publishing house caught the eyes of big fishes in the corporative lunch table as its market value skyrocketed in a shot span of eight years. The astounding publisher's growth lead to its acquirement by the worldwide renowned, yet extremely elusive multimillionaire entrepreneur commonly known as the Man in the Moon himself. The Guardians was now one of the strong arms of the Walt-Katzenberg Group, home of the most read printed publications in the entire country.

Elsa Arendelle, 25, was one of the Guardians' most dedicated editors. Her importance to the company was undeniable, seeing that she was in charge of a few of the biggest authors in the publishing house's care. She was smart, resourceful, had a good eye for business and was capable of developing strong relations with writers. She was a talented professional, respected by her co-workers and generally appreciated by her assigned authors.

A small part of her job consisted of reading drafts people sent to the office. Reading until her eyes bled scavenging through piles and piles of stories for the actually profitable ones. Yes, it was a quite draining process, but one she enjoyed nonetheless. If anything, she wouldn't be opposed to dedicating more of her time to that. It was what drew her to the publishing word: just the pure love for books and appreciation for good writers.

So reading dull scripts actually beat the most glamorous parts of her daily work by a landslide. What could be considered a perk of the job was that she built very close relationships with her authors, going as far as becoming friends with a few celebrities along the way. As a publisher, she was responsible for helping writers deliver the best books they could, which unfortunately included having to deal with the eccentricities of some of them. Don't get her wrong, she respected the writers she was in charge of, and she held every and each one of them in really high regards. But sometimes, it was just too much to handle.

As a matter of fact, at that exact moment, she was having a little bit of a headache dealing with one of her authors. A very talented, fashion-forward young woman loved by the teenagers and an incredible addition to the Guardians' wall of published authors. Megara was an It Girl in every sense of the term: trend-setter, confident, charismatic and iconic. Meg, as she was called by her fans, was also very responsible and her work was impeccable always.

But at the same time, Megara could be somehow picky and stubborn. She was very specific about certain things, aiming for perfection in the smallest of details, and demanding for everything to be done her way. It was always a struggle finding a deal between the author's vision and what would be most suited for the publishing house.

"So let me get this straight," Elsa said as the two women sat together in the office's lounge area, "you want to change the launch date of your new book." Again, she said inside her head knowing that it would be more damaging that anything if said out loud.

"Yes," Megara said sipping her coffee and making a disgusted face. She put her cup down on the table with all the grace of a gazelle.

"Is there any reason why?"

Megara rolled her eyes. "My stupid boyfriend wants to be there, but he can't because he's doing these ludicrous labors for his parents. Therefore the need to change the day of the party."

"Okay." Elsa nodded typing on her laptop. "I'll take care of the details. Are you sure your boyfriend can come on these date options we highlighted?"

"Yeah."

"Is there anything else you would like to discuss?" Inside her head, she was already making a list of all the hired services she would have to call and calculating the extra cost of Megara's sudden change.

"Not that I can think of," Megara said with a nonchalant shrug.

"Then I'll call you as soon as I have a new date set." Elsa closed her laptop and stood up.

Megara stood up as well. "Alright. Thanks, Elsa."

"It's my job to help you," Elsa said with a smile as she accompanied her author to the exit. She waved Megara goodbye through the glass door until the elevator doors closed and the writer was finally out of sight.

She sighed rubbing her temples until she reached her desk and let herself fall on her chair.

"What's the matter, girl?" Wasabi, her tall, dark-skinned colleague asked from the desk beside hers.

"Meg wants to change the date of her launch party," Elsa said opening her laptop and turning the power on in her monitor.

"Again?" Rapunzel, her other co-worker asked as she offered her a warm mug of freshly brewed coffee.

"Uh-huh." Elsa took the mug from the blonde girl with a grateful smile. "Thanks."

Rapunzel stretched her arm over the desks to give Wasabi his beverage and settled into her own workspace, the desk in front of Elsa's.

"Isn't it a little too late for a date change?" Wasabi asked sniffing the delicious scent of the caffeinated drink and sighing satisfied.

Elsa let out a dry laugh at that. "Try telling her that."

"Miss Arendelle?"

The trio of editors looked up in the direction of the voice and saw their boss poking his head out his office and looking straight at Elsa.

"A word, please?" he said with his British accent and went back inside the room.

"Great," Elsa mumbled before standing up. Her day just kept getting better and better.

"Yes, sir?" She stood by the office's doorframe uncomfortable as she watched her boss.

Pitch Black was leaning back on his leather swivel chair with his hands folded on his lap. His golden eyes were calm and solemn, which Elsa took as a not-so-bad sign. "Have a seat, Miss Arendelle," he said.

Elsa sat on one of the chairs in front of his desk, crossed her ankles, placed a hand over the other on her lap and waited.

Pitch took his sweet time agonizing Elsa as he chose his next words carefully. "It appears that North is coming today for a little chat, and he's bringing his nephew with him."

Elsa nodded unable to see why that piece of information should be relevant to her. Although she was technically North's editor, whenever he had things to discuss about work, he would directly arrange a meeting with her. Besides, North and Pitch were old friends—North being the very first author published by the Guardians, way before becoming part of the Walt-Katzenberg Group—, and would occasionally meet up to chat.

Pitch turned on his chair. "Perhaps you have heard of him. Does the name Jack Frost ring any bells?"

Elsa frowned as her brain scanned through cabinets of memories trying to pull out all the information she could remember related to that name. "Writer. Known for action thriller novels. Didn't know he was Nicholas' nephew, though. Pretty sure he's published by the Magic Mirror."

"Well, not anymore," he said sketching a mischievous smile at the mention of their rival publishing company.

"I don't think I understand."

"Rumor has it that Mr. Frost's contract with Magic Mirror was ripped apart when he took the owner's daughter to bed."

Elsa's eyes grew wide with surprise. She had never heard a thing about that quite scandalous rumor running through the publishing grapevines. "… Do we believe in that rumor?"

Pitch smirked at her. "We have reasons to believe in it, yes."

Elsa raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. "Them being?"

"His history," he said nonchalant.

She stared at her boss in disbelief. Although he possessed a dry, very refined humor, he was not one to indulge in jokes. Whatever he was planning, he was serious about it. "Okay," she said at last. "I think I see where you're going with this. You want to get Mr. Frost to sign a contract with us now that he's publisher-free."

Pitch chuckled, and she definitely didn't like that sound. "I actually would like you to get that, Miss Arendelle."

"All due respect, sir, but why me?"

Pitch turned his chair so he was facing his office through glass wall. He watched with fascination as his employees worked. "Mr. Frost seems to have preference for attractive ladies," he said. "I assumed you would have better chances of getting that contract than me."

Elsa kept staring at him incredulous. Was he really saying that with a straight face?

"My other option would be your cousin," Pitch continued as she still looked unconvinced, "but you and I know that Miss Corona wears her heart on her sleeve."

"Rapunzel also has a boyfriend," Elsa muttered, "whereas I am available."

Pitch nodded. "That too."

"Sir," she sighed rubbing her temples, "you're requesting that I prostitute myself in order to bring an author to the publisher."

"I requested no such thing, Elsa," he protested with a shrug. "All I'm asking is for you to take good care of him and show that the Guardians is a publishing house that believes in the well-being of our authors and puts their needs first."

Still sounds a lot like prostitution, she thought, but decided to play along with her boss. Heavens knew she would have no choice but to humor him. "So in other words, you're asking me to babysit a grown adult with the sexual restraints of a hormonal teenager."

Pitch intently looked at her as if trying to read her soul and find out her deepest secrets. "… That is exactly what I'm asking you to do."

Elsa shook her head falling against the backrest of her chair and staring at the ceiling. She let out a dry chuckle before saying, "Will I at least get a raise for that?"

* * *

 

H&H Inventions was a startup company focused on technological advances and innovative solutions founded by the geniuses Hiccup Haddock III and Hiro Hamada three years ago.

Although the company was in its very beginning, thanks to the brilliancy of its owners, they had successfully obtained the money necessary for their dream workspace in just a few years. They had recently acquired a duplex office—a well localized, modern area with an entire wall of glass to a breathtaking view of the city; two conference rooms; a workshop provided with the latest of technological equipment; a well-stocked kitchen; stylish furniture and a comfortable rest area, with a good selection of leisure activities, designed for utter relaxation and enhancement of the team's creativity and productivity.

Their team, so to speak, was still fairly limited, but they were competent, worked well together and acted like a dedicated, ambitious, workaholic family. H&H had a very promising future ahead, as their current financial growth indicated, and every one of them strived for greater success.

It was an ordinary day in the office, with Hiccup hiding in the workshop tinkering with their next product and Hiro de-stressing playing a round of Hero's Duty with his fellow co-workers after being dragged into a boring meeting with possible clients earlier in the day.

The intercom rang and Violet went to answer it. The little screen came to life and she could see a blonde young woman with big green eyes standing in front of the building.

"Can I help you?" Violet asked.

The blonde cleared her throat. "Hi, my name's Sam Sparks, and I'm here on behalf of the interview for Scientist Only!"

"Oh," Violet groaned mentally facepalming herself. "Of course. I'll let you in now. You take the elevator in the end of the corridor and come to the sixth floor."

"Okay, thank you!"

She pressed a button to open the front door for the reporter, then turned on her heels and shouted to the rest of the room, "I need Genius One and Genius Two with me!"

She tapped her foot on the floor waiting, but no answer came.

"I don't think they can hear you, Vi," Wilbur, their lawyer, said from his seat on the couch. He lowered the newspaper he had been reading to look at her. "Hiccup is in the workshop and Hiro is probably wearing one of those VR headsets."

"Unbelievable," Violet hissed. "Can you let the girl from Scientist Only! in? I'm gonna get those two."

Wilbur nodded. "Sure."

With that, Violet stomped off first to the rest area upstairs and stopped right in front of her Asian-American boss. She called him, but as Wilbur had predicted, he didn't even react to the sound of her voice. She pressed the power button on the headset he was wearing.

"What—" Hiro mumbled looking around confused.

"Playtime is over," she said crossing her arms.

Hiro pushed the headset and blinked a few times to adjust his eyes to the office light. "What the hell, woman?"

"You have an interview with a writer from that science magazine," Violet informed him gesturing to the young female Wilbur was letting inside the office at that exact moment. She did not give him time to complain as she turned around and headed back down the stairs to the workshop's door.

She hated the workshop with every cell on her body, and avoided going inside it as much as she could. Taking a deep breath, Violet opened the door and flinched at the deafening noise of the heavy machine Hiccup was using to cut a metal sheet. She stood in Hiccup's field of vision and waited with her hands covering her ears and a scowl on her face.

The auburn-haired guy noticed her and gave her a friendly smile. He pressed a button on the machine and it stopped moving, silencing the room. "Violet! What brings you to my domains?" he asked taking off his ear protectors.

"Interview with Scientists Only! right now," she said lowering her hands. "The girl is waiting for you in the lounge."

"Oh, that was today?" Hiccup asked running his hands through his hair trying to fix his disheveled look.

"I completely forgot too," Violet confided as they walked together. She watched with amusement as her other boss attempted to tame his hair. "It's a written interview, Hiccup. Nobody cares what you look like."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Aren't you the one who's always saying that we have to be careful how we look in public?"

"I don't think that magazine's demographic cares much about your appearance," the girl mumbled through her gritted teeth.

"You sound sour."

"I wanted the business magazine, and they declined me." Violet glared at him indignant. "What kind of story could possibly be more interesting than an exclusive interview with the prodigious duo of the century?!"

Hiccup shrugged. "It's still good advertisement."

She scoffed shaking her head. "Yeah, let me take care of the advertisement, Haddock. You just make sure you don't sound like a complete dumbass with your answers, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," he said with amusement and headed in the direction of the interviewer, who was already talking to Hiro.

Violet watched as they sat together and Miss Sparks pulled out a recorder from her purse. Wilbur walked to her and turned to look at the trio as well.

"Shouldn't you be there too?" he asked her.

"I probably should," she mumbled and begrudgingly dragged her feet to the ongoing interview.

Hi." She shook Sam's hand. "Violet Parr. We exchanged emails. Don't mind me," she said in a low voice as she sat on the couch beside the young reporter. "I'm just here on legal purposes."

"Oh, don't worry," Sam reassured her. "I'm asking the questions I emailed you earlier, and they are free to answer only with what they find relevant."

Violet nodded and gestured for the woman to go on with her work.

Sam straightened up and cleared her throat. "As I was saying, you two are making a name for yourselves with this company. Would you mind telling us how you guys met?"

"Well, we actually stalked each other online before actually meeting," Hiccup said sheepishly.

Hiro laughed. "You stalked me. I had no idea who you were."

"Excuse me?" Hiccup turned to glare at the younger guy incredulous. "Who reached out for who again?"

"Only after you kept throwing all these hints begging me to talk to you."

"Uh," Sam interrupted them shyly, "would you mind explaining that story with a little more details?"

Violet discretely pinched the bridge of her nose. Leave it to her two genius bosses to make fools out of themselves by starting a petty argument during an interview for a fucking nerds' magazine.

"Right…" Hiccup cleared his throat and looked back at the interviewer. "You know those huge scavenger hunts that go around the globe?"

"I'm vaguely aware of those, but, please, proceed."

"When I was in college, I started playing one that was completely online, but had players from the entire world." Hiccup pointed to Hiro. "I didn't know back then, but Hiro was also playing."

"There were lists of people who had cracked the puzzles. A different list for each task. And I noticed that there was a username that was always at the top three of the lists. What was that?" Hiccup looked at Hiro making circular motions with his hand. "Something-bot-number-number…"

"Megabot14," Hiro said.

"Right." Hiccup nodded. "So we kept playing for weeks, I think, and at some point, we started competing against each other to see who solved the puzzles first. It was either Hiro or I at the top."

Violet closed her eyes. Of course she had already heard that story before, and her feelings about it remained the same. "Dorks," she whispered to herself.

"I let you win those times," Hiro stated.

"You keep telling yourself that, buddy," Hiccup replied with a roll of eyes. "So yeah, we kept competing without even knowing each other. I tracked his username and found that he played some other games too, but no contact was ever made."

Hiccup stopped to take a breath.

"But then, we reached an unsolvable puzzle," he continued. "It stayed unsolved for months. They said it was the last round."

"Neither of you could solve it?" Sam asked surprised.

"Nope," Hiro answered.

"One day, I got an encrypted message on my email," Hiccup said. "First I thought it was a virus and ignore it. But my curious brain kept thinking about it, and cracked the code a few days later. The subject of the email read 'Greetings, Nightfury90', which was my username on the scavenger hunt website."

"Was that you?" Sam asked looking at Hiro.

"Yes."

"The little prick sent me an empty email as bait and waited for me to answer him." Hiccup glared at the Asian American guy, but was ignored. "And I took the bait. I asked him how close he was to solving the puzzle."

"'Closer than you', I replied," Hiro added.

"Which was total bullshit."

"Was not. I was definitely closer than you."

"Yeah, that's debatable."

"Boys?" Violet gently called their attention with a sweet smile on her face.

They recoiled embarrassed.

"So we decided to team up!" Hiccup said. "We compared notes and got a little closer to solving the puzzle."

"We worked together nonstop for two weeks," Hiro added.

"And ta-da-rah! We solved it!"

"I made sure that our answers were sent at the exact same time, and we both received a congratulatory message with the coordinates for a location in the real world."

"So we went there together. That was the first time we ever met. Oh, man." Hiccup pinched Hiro's cheek affectionately. "You were so cute back then."

Hiro shoved him off annoyed. "And you were so scrawny. Oh, wait." Hiro raised an eyebrow at him. "You still are."

"Where was the location?" Sam asked completely absorbed by the story.

"None other than the Robinson Industries headquarters," Hiro informed smugly.

"Turns out the scavenger hunt's idealizer was Cornelius Robinson, the CEO of Robinson Industries."

"Oh my God!" Sam exclaimed excited. "That's so cool! The Cornelius Robinson himself?"

"Mr Robinson took us to lunch and kept asking about our opinion on the tasks and how we had figured this thing, or that thing out and completely fangirling throughout the entire meal," Hiro said with disdain.

Violet hissed. That was definitely not the way to talk about the man known as the Father of the Future…

"And when we went back to his office, Mr Robinson offered each of us an internship there," Hiccup said.

"That's amazing."

Hiro shrugged. "Yeah. So we interned there for a year. I went to the programmers team, and Hiccup went to engineering."

"But we kept in touch even though we were working apart. And we became friends." Hiccup pulled Hiro into a lose headlock.

"We helped each other survive the internship," Hiro said with a roll of his eyes.

Hiccup nodded eagerly. "Robinson Industries were intense."

"And we were both still finishing college, and had other things to deal with in the outside world."

"After one hell of a year, Mr Robinson hired us for real, but now with the two of us working on the New Burgess team."

"We worked together for three years under his direct supervision before leaving to start our own company."

"What did Cornelius Robinson think about you two leaving?"

Hiccup scratched his chin as he gave the question some thought. "I think he was a little upset, but he was also kinda proud of us. He was really supportive of our decision back then, even offering to be our investor."

"We declined, but he's still our techie godfather," Hiro added.

"Yeah, he always helps us with advice and stuff. Ties were not cut entirely."

"And William there"—Hiro pointed at the dark haired guy reading his newspaper—"who's our lawyer, is Mr Robinson's son."

Sam's eyes grew wide in surprise.

"We met while we worked there, and he climbed aboard the H&H ship in the very beginning of planning."

"So yeah, we started our company. At first, it was Hiccup and I, and Wilbur sometimes freelancing for us. Our 'office'"—Hiro did quotation marks with his fingers—"was the spare room in Hiccup's apartment…"

"We grew little by little, worked with a few big clients, sold some of our inventions, hired our team members… and our latest big accomplishment was probably buying and reforming this place." Hiccup finished gesturing with his hands to the room around him.

"I think that answers how we met," Hiro said looking at the interviewer for confirmation.

"It sure does!" Sam agreed eagerly. "I don't think I can cut any of that answer off the article!"

"Does that mean we're getting a couple more pages for the coverage?" Violet asked with an arched eyebrow.

Sam laughed. "I wish." She rummaged through her note cards. "So… going back to your team a little, you said that at first, it was you two, and your lawyer. Is he your lawyer full time now?"

Hiccup nodded. "He is."

"What about the rest of the team?"

"Well. It's still a small team, but for now, it's enough for the amount of work we have." Hiccup gestured with his head in Violet's direction. "We have Violet, who's our PR manager. She's the one responsible for our company's visibility. She's always making sure that we look good." Hiccup nodded for his partner to continue.

"And those two in the back"—Hiro stretched his neck to look at the pair who had been playing Hero's Duty with him, but were now on their desks typing on their keyboards—"are Guy and Tinkerbell, our mini task force. They are the ones responsible for H&H completing any job on time. Tink is very creative and is always thinking outside the box. As for Guy, he was the last one we hired, but he learns fast, and he is being a good addition to the team."

"And that's all our family," Hiccup said smiling at Sam.

"Okay, let's talk about your production a little now," Sam said. "A part of your job consists of finding a solution to a client's demand, but you guys also develop inventions on your own, right?"

"Right." Hiccup folded his hands and placed them on his lap. "We work with clients in a very commercial perspective, because, you know, we have bills to pay, and we have a team that depends on this income. As for the internal projects, we like to picture ourselves as our own clients. We decide a problem together, and then we try to find ways to solve it. Those cases are generally directed towards social or environmental causes. But other times, we just want to get together and build something fun."

Violet nodded pleased. Despite their idiocy, they were handling the interview reasonably well. They were being charismatic, a little goofy, professional, passionate… It was a great image to sell to those nerdy readers. She wondered if those two had actually taken time to read the cards she had prepared for them. Whatever the case, she was not going to complain much afterwards.

"Can you give us an example of those internal projects?"

"We developed a medical robot in order to improve healthcare in hospitals," Hiro said. "We actually worked with my brother, who's a doctor, to collect data concerning patient and professional needs, and generated a chip with over 10,000 different medical procedures. We hope that we can help democratize access to healthcare with that."

"Baymax, as we call him, was a prototype success, and its large-scale production is expected to start in two or three years," Hiccup informed.

"That is remarkable."

"Thank you."

"Our team works hard every day hoping that our inventions can help people in need and make their lives a little better," Hiro said.

Sam struggled for a moment and kept looking down at her notes. "I had other questions for you, but I think that this is the perfect ending for this interview." She stopped the recorded and put it back inside her purse.

Hiro and Hiccup let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Thank you so much for your time," Sam said standing up and shaking their hands.

"Thank you for talking to us," Hiccup said in return.

"Let me walk you out," Violet said gesturing to the door.

"I will make sure to send the final draft of the interview for approval," Sam informed her.

"We would appreciate that." They stopped by the elevator's doors. "If there's anything else you need, you have my email."

Sam smiled. "Of course. Same goes to you."

The elevator ringed and the doors opened. Sam pulled Violet for a quick hug. "Thank you so much."

Violet shook her head negatively. "Thank you."

Sam stepped inside the elevator and the doors closed. Violet rotated her neck and shoulders tiredly as she headed back to the office. As she walked inside, she found Hiccup sprawled across the sofa he had been occupying whining incoherently.

"I fucking hate interviews!" She could finally discern his words.

"Suck it up, Haddock," Violet said. "If it makes you feel better, you guys didn't ruin it as I believed you would."

Hiccup lifted his head to glare at her. "Gee, thanks, Violet."

Violet shrugged and turned to walk to her desk.

"Stop being a baby and get back to work, you one-legged idiot," Hiro yelled from the kitchen. He closed the fridge's door and narrowed his eyes at the team with his hands on his hips. "Who was in charge of snacks today?"

Hiccup groaned with his face buried on the couch cushion. He raised his hand. "I was."

"Well, get off your scrawny butt and go get our snacks!"

"Alright, alright," Hiccup mumbled standing up. He went to his desk to get his wallet. "What do you guys want?"

"Meatballs," Wilbur said quickly.

"Meatloaf," Violet added.

"Popcorn," Guy mumbled.

"Honeycomb cake," Tinkerbell said.

"Spicy chicken wings," Hiro replied.

"Those aren't even sold in the same place!" Hiccup glared from one coworker to the other, but all of them continued with their tasks casually. He threw his hand sin the air exasperated. "I'll pick something on my own," he mumbled as he headed out.

* * *

 

She had spent the next hours either furiously typing away on her keyboard or tiredly apologizing on the phone, having to deal with Meg's date problem from earlier that morning. She would have to change the location of the party, meaning new flyers, new invitations, new photos… everything would have to be redone. Some of the services would not be available as well, meaning she would have to hire a new catering company, and maybe also security. She could ask Marketing for help, but she knew Meg better than anyone in the office, and things would be easier if Elsa just took care of it.

"Elsa?"

She looked up from her monitor to find Periwinkle, her intern looking at her.

"Mr. Black asked me to tell you that Mr. North is on his way."

Elsa groaned. "Perfect." She opened one of the drawers, grabbed her makeup bag and stood up. "Thanks, Peri," she said with a smile to the girl before heading straight to the bathroom.

She set a twenty minutes countdown on her cellphone and put it down beside her bag. She leaned on the countertop and glared at her reflection reprimanding the woman staring back at her. Where had she put herself into? Despite the time she had had after the talk with her boss, she still wasn't okay with the plan they had elaborated to lure Jack Frost.

There was a knock on the door.

"Hey, cuz?" Rapunzel was looking at her worriedly. "What's going on? And why the hell are you putting lipstick on?!"

Elsa ignored her as she continued applying the dark purple to her lips. She saw from the corner of her eyes as Rapunzel crossed her arms.

"Elsa?"

Elsa sighed. "I'm supposed to entertain North's nephew," she said checking herself in the mirror and brushing her bangs with a comb.

"Did North ask you to do that?"

"No. Pitch did." She narrowed her eyes. Perhaps her tight bun was too strict for such an encounter. She untied it and ran her fingers through the length of her platinum-blonde hair.

"What?" Rapunzel questioned with extreme confusion. "Who is he? How old is he? Why would you have to entertain him? And what does 'entertaining' exactly imply?"

She started braiding her hair. "He's a famous writer. His name is Jack Frost, maybe you heard of him. According to my internet research, he's 27. I'm supposed to entertain him because Pitch wants Frost to write his next book with us. And as for entertaining, it pretty much means whatever Mr Frost asks from me. Except intercourse, apparently."

Rapunzel took a step back and hit the wall behind her. "What?!"

"Well." Elsa shrugged as she started loosening the hairdo and pulling a few strands of hair from the French braid. "Pitch didn't say it like that, but that's how I interpreted it." She stopped to look at her cousin. "Did I mention that he was kicked out of Magic Mirror because he slept with Grimhilde's daughter?"

"Elsa." Rapunzel leaned against the countertop, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "ARE YOU TRYING TO GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK?"

"Shhh!" Elsa hissed. "Would you mind keeping your voice down?" She put everything back inside her makeup bag and walked to the door.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Rapunzel followed her fuming.

Elsa stopped herself from rubbing her temples before she ruined her makeup. "Punz, I love you, but shut up, please?"

Walking through the kitchen door, she saw their receptionist preparing coffee and setting the mugs on a silver tray. She stopped and backtracked, stumbling on her cousin in the process.

"Hey, Mavis," Elsa greeted the girl with a smile.

"Hi," Mavis said back as she pressed a sequence of buttons on the coffee machine and waited as it filled the last of her three mugs with the beverage. "North is here."

"I know. Are those for Pitch and his guests?" she asked gesturing to the hot drinks.

"Mhmm." Mavis placed the last mug on the tray.

"Want me to carry those for you?"

Mavis looked at her with confusion. "You sure? I know you have plenty of work to do with that Megara problem."

Elsa shrugged. "Yeah, don't worry about it. I should say hi to North anyway."

"In that case, thanks, Elsa," Mavis placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder in a gesture of gratitude.

"No problem."

Mavis walked past them and left the kitchen, leaving Elsa alone with her infuriated cousin.

Rapunzel was glaring at her with crossed arms. "What are you doing?" she asked bitter.

Elsa walked to the cabinet and produced packets of sugar and cream. "I'm supposed to make an entrance."

"Do you really think I'm gonna let you in there?" Rapunzel stood on her way.

Elsa walked around her and started organizing the tray's contents. "If you don't want to meet your boss' wrath, yes, you are."

"Your well-being is obviously more concerning than Pitch yelling at me!" Rapunzel said stomping her feet.

Elsa sighed. "Your confidence on my ability to protect myself is very reassuring."

"I can't leave you with that-that… animal."

Elsa laughed. "You don't even know him. Don't judge a book by its cover, remember?"

"I didn't even see its cover!"

"All the more reason why you should stop worrying and let me handle this."

Elsa's phone started beeping and she stopped the countdown. "Time to go inside."

"Elsa…"

"Relax, Rapunzel. I will be fine." Elsa gave the other girl her makeup bag. "Can you take this back to my desk?"

Rapunzel begrudgingly took it without meeting her eyes.

Elsa took the coffee tray and headed out the kitchen. "What's the worst thing that could happen?" she asked as Rapunzel walked beside her.

"I can think of a million terrible things that could happen."

"You can tell me all about it after I come back," she said as they departed, Elsa going to Pitch's office and Rapunzel back to her own desk.

She struggled to knock while carrying the beverages, and gave up before she could cause an accident. Wouldn't that be a scene to get his attention?

"Excuse me, sir?" she said smiling at the occupants of the room. "I brought your coffees."

"Miss Elsa!" Nicholas St. North, renowned children's book author stood up eagerly and opened up his arms to greet her. "Such a joy to see you!"

"Hello, Nick." Elsa smiled grateful as he took the tray from her hands. "How have you been?"

"Good. My neighbor is teaching me yoga." North unceremoniously put the tray on Pitch's desk spilling some of the mug's steaming hot content. Her boss hissed under his breath. "I feel like I'm twenty again."

"Well, you do have that youthful glow."

North laughed a thunder-like laugh rubbing his belly. "Come meet my nephew!" He gestured for the young man to stand up and slapped him heavily on the back. "This is Jack. He just came back to New Burgess."

Elsa took a quick look at North's nephew. He was as good-looking in real life as he was in those photos she had found on google. He was tall with broad shoulders, he had shiny silver hair and penetrating blue eyes. He held an easygoing smile, and she could imagine how those rumors about him were true.

"Jack Frost," he said as he held oud a hand for her.

"Elsa Arendelle. It's a pleasure to meet you." She made sure to maintain eye contact as she shook his hand, giving it a confident amount of pressure and letting her fingers slide through his palm as she retrieved her hand.

He smirked at her. "Pleasure is all mine."

"Miss Elsa is my precious editor," North explained. "I would be lost without her."

"Is that so?" Jack asked with an arched eyebrow.

Elsa shook her head with modestly. "He's exaggerating."

"Why don't you show Mr. Frost the office, Miss Arendelle?" Pitch suggested gently. "While North and I talk."

North, oblivious to the fact that Pitch and Elsa had already decided everything beforehand, clapped in agreement. "What an excellent idea! Jack," he said looking at his boy. "Go with her."

"Don't mind if I do," he said, his eyes not leaving hers.

"Shall we?" she asked gesturing to the door.

"We shall," he replied letting her go first.

She struggle to decide what she should say or do in order to keep his attention on her. She was never good at flirting, and Pitch had suggested that she stay in full flirtatious mode while Jack was around. But she wondered if that was really the best approach. If Mr Frost was as much of a player as they believed he was, then they could assume that he didn't have trouble getting any pretty girl out there. Shouldn't the best plan of action here be playing hard to catch? Entice him? Push and Pull? Make him come after her?

Oh, God. What was she thinking? Like hell she would be able to pull that sort of thing. Well, it was either that, or risking her career in the book publishing world, so… She took a deep breath before getting to work.

"This is the main space of the office, she said gesturing to the rows of desks where people were working. "That over there"—she pointed at the left side of the room and gestured for them to begin walking—"is our legal department. Next to them are the Publicity and Marketing teams"—she placed a hand on his upper arm, the action disguised as a way of getting him to look at the specific areas she named as she kept pointing at different parts of the office—"then Production with the Art Department and Editors. Some are in charge of manuscript reading, and others, like me, are the bridge between authors and the publisher while they develop their books."

Her friends were staring at her from their desks, and Elsa pointedly ignored the glares she was receiving from her cousin. She let go of Jack's arm and gave him a shy smile. "Would you like to see the rest of the office?"

He shrugged. "Whatever you think is best, Miss Arendelle."

Elsa nodded and led around the office divisions. "Here we have one of the conference rooms," she continued explaining as they walked. "That's our Marketing Manager's office, the kitchen and lounge. Bathrooms are over there. And this"—she stopped in front of a majestic black bookshelf in the wall that separated the reception from the rest of the office—"is probably the most important part of the Guardians."

"A bunch of old books?" Jack asked picking one up and inspecting its cover with contempt.

"These are the first books ever published by the Guardians. Every single one of them was selected by Mr. Black himself when he started the company, way before it was a part of the Walt-Katzenberg family. And this"—she picked a book she had memorized over the years—"is the very first book that started it all."

She gave the book to Jack with the front cover facing down. He turned it in his hands and stared coldly at the cover. It was one of his uncle's books. The first book North had ever published in his whole career.

"North said that you just came back to the city," Elsa commented casually inspecting another book from the shelf. "Were you out long?"

"Yeah," he said putting the book back on its rightful place. "I was travelling for a while."

"Really? Where did you go?"

He shrugged. "Here and there. I was in Paris when my uncle dragged me back."

She looked at him from over her shoulder. "The City of Light."

Jack smirked. "Indeed."

She turned back to the bookshelf. "Did you enjoy it?"

She felt his presence right behind her.

"Very much."

She turned on her heels and had to hide her surprise. They were less than a step away from each other. "That's good to hear," she said with a smile.

"I'm starting to see why my uncle likes this publisher so much," he said, and there was a husky tone in his voice.

Elsa lick lips very discretely as she kept her eyes locked with his. "We at the Guardians pride ourselves in the deep relation we build with our authors," she said with her best sultry voice.

It was his turn to lick his lips. "Is that so?"

"Indeed," she repeated his answer making him chuckle.

"An editor should be the author's closest"—she came minimally closer to him—"confidant. It's the editor's job to bring out the best in the author, to get him on top." she continued, their bodies so close that they were almost touching. "They work together to accomplish great things"—she stretched her hand and took a strand of hair that had fallen on his blazer.—"And who knows, maybe one day, you and I can work together, Mr. Frost."

She kept analyzing the silvery hair between her fingers like it was the most precious thing in the world.

"Would that include working overnight?" he asked arching one eyebrow.

Her lips moved sensually as she pronounced every word slowly. "Whatever it takes to see your best."

He leaned closer trapping her against the bookshelf behind her. "Sounds interesting."

She smiled. "Doors are always open."

"Well," she said with her normal voice talking one step to the side and breaking the spell that had surrounded the two of them. "That concludes our tour. If you'll excuse me, I still have plenty of work to do."

Jack winked at her. "Don't let me get between you and your work, Miss Arendelle."

"Feel free to explore the office all you want, Mr. Frost."

She left him there with a final casual smile, and she didn't turn her head to confirm it, but she was pretty sure she could feel his eyes following her.

* * *

 

Metroville. An ordinary city with its usual commercial, trendy, historical and residential areas. It was the home of wealthy, traditional families, and also a location for those who wanted to blend in.

Having grown up there with her family, it was the ideal place for her to start over. Two years ago, after some less fortunate happenings had scarred her emotionally, and life in the big city just became too much, Anna decided to leave. So she moved back to her empty parent's home and started a clean chapter on her life.

At first, it was scary and lonely, being by herself in a city that no longer felt familiar to her, and not having her loved ones to comfort her when she was sad. Her parents had even gone as far as spending a few days in the old house when she first moved in, but it wasn't the same thing.

They had retired and had lived in a small cottage in a secluded town ever since their two beautiful daughters had left their house to become remarkable, independent adults in the big world, as they liked to say. Even living their simple, pacific lives, Agnarr and Iduna Arendelle didn't need to think twice before taking the train back to Metroville to support their baby girl.

And she really appreciated what they did. She would be lost without Mama and Papa those first few days when she didn't even know how to turn the power back on. But the thing was that she missed her sister.

Anna missed how they went grocery shopping together and always ended up with an extra bottle of wine and box of chocolates; how her sister always complained about letting damp towels on the couch; how they fought over who got the last scoop of ice cream; how sometimes when Elsa was too tired with work and fell asleep in the living room and Anna would cover her with a blanket… Anna missed the smell of her sister's special hot coco—the one she only made when she knew that Anna was really upset; those silly Sundays when Rapunzel would come over and they would spend the day eating cookie dough and trying out face masks; the times when they went window-shopping and Elsa would chastise her about not needing a new dress, but would still pay for the item when Anna was short of cash…

She missed the very small things, and the big, important ones. She missed her best friend, and no longer living with Elsa was the only thing that she regretted in the choice she made when she left.

But she had managed the absence over the two years. She met new people—reconciled with old ones, she started a career for herself and she was generally happy. A part of her thought that it would not have been possible after what happened, but she had done it. She was broken, she cried, she fell. But she stood up, she fought and she prevailed.

She had a future ahead of her, and she knew great things were coming her way. Despite all the pain and struggle, she wouldn't change a goddamn thing in her life. She liked where she was, and who she had become.

"And if you divide everything by three, you'll get the answer, which is seventeen," Anna said scribing the numbers on the blackboard. She turned to face her class of twelve years old students. "Any questions?"

None of the kids said a word as they continued copying the lesson on their notebooks. The teacher then went back to her seat so she could wait for the end of her class as they finished their exercises. She had just found the right page on her math book when the bell rang loudly startling some of the kids.

"Don't forget to do your homework for our next class!" she said over the noise and started to erase the board.

"Goodbye, Miss Arendelle!" a girl and a boy said to her as they passed her.

She turned to wave at the two. "Bye, Margo. Bye, Miguel."

She kept cleaning the room, putting chairs back on their places, throwing pieces of paper in the trash can, collecting forgotten items and putting them inside one of the drawers on her desk… When she decided her classroom was in reasonable order, she took her bag and her work supplies and headed in the direction of the teachers' lounge.

She put her things on an empty table, went to the fridge and retrieved the lunch and apple juice box she had put there in the morning. She sat down and started eating her sandwich while pulling out her phone and writing a message to her sister.

"Mind if I sit with you?" The melodious voice of her fellow teacher came to her ears.

"Of course not." Anna smiled putting her phone back inside her bag. "Hi, Tooth," she greeted the literature teacher.

"So how are classes going?" Tooth asked as she opened the Tupperware that contained her lunch.

"I think I'm finally getting used to it," Anna said after swallowing the food in her mouth. "But maybe I'm wrong, and I'm actually a terrible teacher."

Tooth laughed taking a bite of her salad. "Nonsense. You're doing great, and the kids love you."

Anna felt warmth filling her heart at the nice words of her mentor. She tucked a strand of her strawberry-blonde hair behind her ear shyly. Tooth had taken Anna under her wing back when she was a newbie with a hastily acquired degree and zero experience. It was thanks to Tooth that Anna had become a teacher in Joyce Williams Elementary School, and words were not enough to communicate the gratitude she nurtured by the older woman.

"What about you? How's pregnant life treating you?" Anna asked looking down at Tooth's dress covered belly and grinning gleefully.

"Some days are better than others," Tooth admitted affectionately rubbing a hand through her belly. "Sometimes, it's like I a little bunny hopping around inside me for hours."

Anna laughed taking another bite of her sandwich.

"My body is sore in places I haven't felt in years, I'm fat, I feel nauseous all the time, hormones are all over the place, I can't even drive…" Tooth complained eagerly. Then, with a gentler tone, she added, "But I wouldn't change a thing. I can't wait to meet the baby."

Anna looked at her and felt her eyes swelling with joyful tears. She wiped the tears off her eyes with a hand and laughed. "I can't believe you'll be gone for a year! What am I gonna do without you?!"

Tooth chuckled shaking her head. "You will be fine. Besides, it's not like I'll never drop by to say hello. And you can visit the baby any time you want."

"Well, I will take you on that offer," Anna stated. "I love babies."

"And there's also that big social event we are both attending, remember?" Tooth said wiggling her eyebrows excitedly.

Anna frowned confused. Had she forgotten another school event? "What social event?"

"Your wedding, Anna," Tooth clarified with amusement in her voice.

"Oh, right…" Anna facepalmed herself.

"How's that going?"

"I think I'm starting to get cold feet," Anna groaned attacking her food. "Like, am I gonna be a good wife? What if Kristoff stops washing his feet? Should we get a dog together? What if he doesn't want to have kids? What if he wants to have too many kids?" She kept waving her hands dangerously in the air. "What if no one shows up to my wedding? What if I spill chocolate on my dress and look like a complete idiot?"

"Honey. You're exaggerating." Tooth took one of Anna's hands in both of hers. She looked deep in the younger woman's blue eyes. "I'm gonna teach you a breathing technic my labor coach taught me now," Tooth said calmly. "Do exactly what I'm doing, okay?"

Anna nodded and breathed through her nose slowly as Tooth was showing her, held it for a few seconds, then let it out through the nose slowly. She did it four more times, feeling herself calm down a little with every new gulf of fresh air.

"Better?"

"Yeah." Anna nodded. "Thanks, Tooth."

Tooth smiled as they returned to their forgotten lunches. "Anytime."

"So do you and Kristoff have any plans for the weekend?" Tooth asked. "My husband always wants to show off his cooking skills, but I haven't been much of a dinner company lately, with all the sickness."

"I'm actually going to New Burgess to visit my sister," Anna said apologetically.

"Oh, that sounds like fun," Tooth said dismissing the declination with nonchalance. Then, she frowned at the girl's wording. "Wait. Just you?"

"Yeah. Kristoff can't really leave his food truck. Weekends are his busiest days."

"Well, enjoy your trip nonetheless."

Anna chuckled. "Oh, I will."

* * *

 

Rapunzel was impatient. She had been feeling uneasy ever since she landed her eyes on that Jack Frost guy. Who did he think he was waltzing in with his stylish hair, and perfectly-fitted jeans and sexy smile like he owned the place? If he thought he ever had a shot with her cousin, he was way mistaken. Over her dead body would she let that idiot Frost touch a single strand of Elsa's precious hair. Whatever the hell happened at Magic Mirror was not going to have a sequel in the Guardians, no, sir.

She had been psychotically staring at her computer screen for what felt like hours unable to get much done, even though she had piles of things to take care of: she had a meeting with one of her authors coming up and she still hadn't read the entire draft yet, the Art team was needing her assistance in the afternoon, she was supposed to help Wasabi write an article for the publisher's website… She didn't have time to be freaking out about some random guy! But she couldn't stop overanalyzing it—she just hated that white-haired guy and how friendly Elsa had been acting around him, and even after he had left with his uncle, Elsa refused to talk to her about it, stating that she was too busy with work.

Okay, so maybe she did have to deal with that 'Megara situation' from earlier, and that alone would be a huge pain in the ass. But couldn't Elsa spare maybe ten minutes of her busy schedule so Rapunzel could scream at her cousin until her lungs exploded? Was that too much to ask?

"Lunchtime!" Wasabi yelled interrupting her inner struggles. She watched as the guy leaned back on his chair with a tired sigh and stretched his arms over his head.

The day had been rough on all of them, as it seemed. It was just the middle of the day, but it felt like a storm had rushed through the publisher and they had been left to take care of the aftermath.

"Finally!" Rapunzel sighed grabbing her wallet. All the fuming was taking up all of her energy. "I'm starving."

"Ready to go, Elsa?" Wasabi asked the blonde beside him.

"Yeah, let me just send this email…" Elsa kept rapidly typing, her eyes glued to her monitor.

"Can we talk about that thing now?" Rapunzel asked glaring daggers at the girl sitting in front of her.

"What thing?" Elsa asked oblivious.

Rapunzel looked at Wasabi giving him a 'is she serious?' look. Wasabi gave her his usual 'she's your cousin' shrug.

"Oh, I don't know." Rapunzel crossed her arms. "Maybe about that Frost imbecile who was fucking you with his eyes! And you, miss, weren't giving much of resistance in the matter!"

"Rapunzel!" Elsa glared at her in shock.

Okay, so maybe she was a little loud, and maybe some of her co-workers were staring at them and sniggering, and it did make her feel a little embarrassed, but she had a point to make. She felt Wasabi sinking uncomfortably in his chair, but ignored him. She narrowed her eyes and continued staring at her cousin.

Elsa sighed pinching the bridge of her nose. "Can we at least wait until we're out of here to talk about it?"

"Then hurry up."

"I'm almost done," Elsa said returning her attention to her computer screen. "There." She turned the screen off and turned to face the other girl. "Done. Happy now?"

"Let's just go have lunch, okay, ladies?" Wasabi placed an appeasing hand on each girl's backs.

"I am not letting this go," Rapunzel stated with a finger pointed at Elsa.

"Of course you're not, you psychotic woman."

As soon as they waved past Mavis and went out of the office's doors, Rapunzel turned to look at Elsa. "Can we talk about it now?"

Elsa sighed. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Why are you so calm about it?" Rapunzel asked.

"Because it's just another dumb task my job is requiring." Elsa pressed the elevator's down button.

"But it's not!" Rapunzel snapped grabbing the other girl's arm. "Elsa, you're exposing yourself. It could be dangerous."

"What do you think I'm gonna do?" Elsa laughed. "Go with him to a shady hotel in the middle of nowhere where he can ravish me, then cut my body into pieces and throw it in a forest so that animals will eat my bloodied flesh and my poor rotten corpse will never be found?"

"Y—" Rapunzel couldn't agree with that idea, because even in her worried state, she knew that that scenario wasn't possible. She knew that Elsa was responsible and would never put herself in such danger. Elsa was a smart woman. No Jack Frost guy should be a threat to her. "No…"

"That was so disgusting that I believe I lost my appetite," Wasabi said with a hand over his stomach.

Elsa rubbed his upper arm soothingly. "Sorry about that."

The elevator's doors opened and they went inside.

"Are you sure you're okay with it, Elsa?" Wasabi asked trying to contain his concerns.

"Yeah." Elsa shrugged. "Besides, I'm not doing it because of Pitch. I decided that I want to do it for me."

"Really?" Wasabi asked curious. "Why's that?"

"Answer me this: why do you think Pitch would go out of his way to get a scandalous, yet admittedly good, author like Frost?"

"To shove it down Grimhilde's throat that her nemesis is making money with the guy that humiliated her?" the guy suggested.

Elsa chuckled. "That too," she admitted. "But I think he's doing it because Frost is North's nephew."

The elevator's doors opened and they quickly blended in the lobby's movement.

"You really think he would do that?" Rapunzel asked with a frown as they headed out to the turnstiles with their IDs in hand.

"North and Pitch are pretty much best friends," Wasabi stated. "Pitch may look like a soulless dictator, but there are things he cares about. The Guardians is one, North is another."

Rapunzel hummed as she processed his words. The three of them stood in line together. "Okay, so those are Pitch's reasons. That doesn't explain yours, Elsa."

"I'm getting there." She tucked her bangs behind her behind her ear casually. "So I talked to Hades."

Wasabi let out a mocking laugh. He looked at the blonde with arched eyebrows. "Oh, is that so?"

"If you're gonna be like that, I'll stop talking," Elsa said glaring at him.

"No, no." Wasabi raised his hands apologizing. "Proceed, Elsa."

Elsa rolled her eyes before continuing, "He confirmed the rumor about Frost's contract, and it seems like it happened at least four months ago. Hades also very unnecessarily added a bit about how Grimhilde herself was enamored of Frost, which would be the actual reason for kicking him out."

Wasabi whistled. "Would you look at that?"

"Why is that relevant?" Rapunzel asked with a frown. "Beside the fact that we now know that he's a manwhore."

"It's relevant because Frost said he'd been travelling, and that North had to drag him back. What if he's travelling since he lost his publisher? Besides, that guy didn't seem interested at all in his uncle's work, so why would he come here of all places? I think North is trying to help him."

"So North wants to bring his nephew to the Guardians?" Wasabi asked.

"I believe so."

"And you wanna help Frost too?" It was Rapunzel's turn to question.

Elsa shrugged. "I just don't want to see a talented author's career being ruined by some wrong choices."

Rapunzel and Wasabi looked at each other surprised.

"You have a good soul, Elsa," Wasabi said rubbing her shoulder.

Elsa laughed. "What's that about?" She turned and gave her cousin an expectant look. "Punz?"

"I'm sorry, Elsa." Rapunzel shook her head. "I understand-I do! It's just…"

"Would it make you feel better if I promised that I will never go out with him? Ever?"

Rapunzel frowned. "Can you promise that?"

"All I have to do is get him to sign a contract," Elsa reasoned. "I'm sure I can figure something without resorting to that…"

As soon as they were out of the building, they heard a series of clicking sounds.

"What the hell is—" Wasabi cut his words short as he looked around and found the source of the noise. A man was taking pictured of them with his camera.

"Eugene," Rapunzel said narrowing her eyes at the guy she so easily recognized, "what are you doing here?"

Eugene put his camera back inside its case as he walked in their direction. "Missed you too, Blondie," he mocked as he kissed her at the top of her head.

"Don't mind her, Eugene," Elsa told him. "She's been a little moody."

"What happened?" He looked worried at the girl beside him.

"We can talk about it over lunch," Wasabi said. "I assume you came to have lunch with us, Mr. Fitzherbert?"

"Yeah. I had a shoot nearby and thought I could surprise my favorite girl." He sighed dramatically. "So much for that."

"I'm sorry," Rapunzel mumbled taking his hand. She gave him a weak smile and a quick peck on the lips. "I really appreciate you coming to see me."

"Where are we eating today?" Elsa asked.

"I saw a promising place right now," Eugene told them. "Ever heard of a Snuggly Duckling?"

Wasabi shook his head. "Nope. Should we try it?"

"I'm all for somewhere close to the office," Elsa said.

"What about you, Blondie?" Eugene asked squeezing her hand.

Rapunzel still felt a little disoriented by the rush of emotions, but at the same time, she should be appreciative of her boyfriend's attention. "Anywhere is fine with you."

"Oh, my God." Wasabi shook his head hiding his face behind a hand. "I did not sign up for that."

Elsa chuckled linking an arm around his and pulling him ahead. "Let's go."

Eugene leaned closer to Rapunzel and put his mouth over her ear. "So what was that about you being upset?" he whispered.

"I'll tell you later," she replied.

Eugene still seemed concerned about her, but decided to do it her way. He led the rest of the group to the restaurant he had suggested. The sign on the door was of a cute yellow duck, but the building itself was rustic and a little threatening.

They walked in one by one, and what they found inside was almost enough to make them run out of the place. It was a rickety old construction with greasy floor that looked like it hadn't been washed in years, the wooden structures creaked whenever there was movement, and there was just a pungent odor of mold coming from everywhere.

"Uh…" Wasabi felt his eyes watering.

"This is a nice place," Elsa commented.

"Yeah, sure," Rapunzel added not to upset her boyfriend.

"Maybe the food is not so bad," Eugene suggested as they walked to an empty table close to one of the walls.

Wasabi looked around and could see a plate of food in one of the nearby tables. He could not identify the dish, but it was an assortment of browns with a goopy consistency. He had to swallow down his vomit.

"That's it!" he said standing up. "I just ate my own vomit. Don't need lunch anymore. Buh-bye!"

He rushed out of the establishment bumping into the waiter on his way out. He apologized hastily as he left, leaving the other three occupants of the table to exchange uncomfortable glances.

"So do you guys wanna…?" Eugene said scratching his beard.

Elsa stood up nodding. "Let's go."

"Right behind you."

Fresh air and sunlight never felt as good as the moment when they were out of the Snuggly Duckling. They stumbled across Wasabi and the four of them all hunched together in the sidewalk breathing in heavy gulps of air and trying to recover their senses of smell.

"Oh, my God!" Rapunzel cried. "What was that smell?"

"I am so sorry, I had no idea such nightmare could exist in the real world," Eugene mumbled pressing a hand to his temples.

"Not your fault, man." Wasabi patted him in the back friendly.

"What are we gonna do now?" Rapunzel asked trying to contain her stomach's growls.

"I'm sure there's a hotdog vendor around here somewhere," Elsa suggested. "Anything is better than that." She gestured with her head to the Snuggling Duckling's entrance.

"You know, I was really carving hotdogs," Eugene said.

"I'm done with food," Wasabi mumbled wiping the sweat off his forehead. "I'll buy a sparkling water and that's it."

"Are you sure?" Elsa asked concerned.

"Yeah." Wasabi laughed humorlessly. "I didn't think I would say this, but I can't wait to go back to work."

* * *

 

Lunch with his uncle was draining. He was a big man, and he had a lot of energy, and he was as easily excitable as a goddamn puppy. So he had spent a good amount of the meal pointing out all of the good things he could thing of about the Guardians. He praised the talented young editors his old friend Pitch had hired, a group with such strong work ethic and drive. He talked about how good it was to have an editor who supported you and worked with you throughout the process of delivering a book into the hands of a reader, and how much Jack would have to gain if only he accepted his proposition and signed a contract with his dear publisher.

So before they could even get desert, Jack said that he had plans, and that he was supposed to meet his friends. Which meant he googled Hiccup's name, found the address to their brand new office and headed there straight from the restaurant.

A girl had let him in the building, but he wasn't sure who that was. Before leaving on his journey of self-discovery, there were two girls working with Hiccup and Hiro: the PR girl with loads of attitude and the blonde Hiccup's apprentice with… loads of attitude. Whoever she was, she had asked him to wait for a moment after learning his name, probably while she cleared his entrance with her bosses, and then had unlocked the front door for him.

He casually inspected the building as he got in the elevator and went up to the designated floor. It was a very modern building, with what seemed to be top-notch security system, white, pristine floor and walls decorated with what he assumed were nothing more than overpriced art pieces. When the elevator's doors opened, he saw Hiro standing in front of the office's glass doors with his arms crossed and a smug expression on his face.

Jack smiled as he walked in the direction of the glass and Hiro pressed a button on the door's security panel.

"Do my eyes deceive me, or is that Jack Frost?" the Asian-American guy asked as Jack pulled the door handle and stepped inside the office.

"Look who's finally hit puberty!" Jack mocked pointing at the other guy. He was pretty sure Hiro hadn't grown a single inch since the last time they had seen each other, but the fact that he was younger was something Jack would never let go of, and would always use to his advantage.

They hugged patting each other's back.

"Hey, man," Hiro greeted. "I didn't know you were back."

"It's a recent thing," Jack replied nonchalant as he took a look around the astounding office. He scratched his earlier analysis of the building—the security system was like an ancient typewritten when compared to the shiny toys the boys had there. "Nice place you got here."

Hiro placed his hands on his hips and took a look around the space proudly. "Welcome to the Edge."

"Where's Haddock?" Jack asked as a quick look around for an auburn-haired guy showed no results.

"Playing with the sharp tools," Hiro replied with a shrug.

Jack arched an eyebrow as he looked at Hiro. "Because he's a big boy?"

Hiro rolled his eyes as he headed back to his desk. "Workshop is over there," he said pointing to the door to said room.

Jack shook his head as he headed to the workshop. He stopped with a hand on the door handle and looked over his shoulder. "Hey, Hiro," he called and waited until Hiro had looked in his direction. "Let's drink some other time. Are you old enough to drink already?"

Hiro glared at him. "Get out of my office, Frost."

Jack laughed and opened the door. He spotted two guys sitting on the floor trying to put together what looked very much like an Ikea chair with no cushions for comfort. It was just a sad-looking chair skeleton.

Hiccup looked up from his work and a grin immediately formed on his face. "Jack!" He looked back at the other guy. "Guy, can you take it from here?"

Guy nodded. "Yeah."

"I'll be back soon," Hiccup said as he stood up and went to hug his friend. "Hey! You're here!"

"Yeah, thanks for that, by the way," Jack said with a glare.

"What are you talking about?" Hiccup asked confused as they went outside and he led the other guy upstairs to the leisure area.

"You fucking snitch. You were the only one who knew where I was."

"You know North scares the shit out of me," Hiccup said sheepishly.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"So what do you think of the office?" Hiccup asked looking at the city through the glass wall.

"Well done, Third," Jack answered patting the auburn-haired guy on the shoulder. "It's good to see you guys succeeding."

"Thanks."

Jack narrowed his eyes as he stared at Hiccup in all seriousness. "You owe me a favor for not keeping your beautiful mouth shut."

Hiccup scratched the back of his head. "Fair enough. What do you want?"

"A place to crash."

Hiccup frowned. "What happened to your apartment?"

"My lease expired," Jack said nonchalant, "and North is driving me nuts."

Hiccup intently looked at him, as if trying to read his emotions. "Well, you can crash with me, but I don't want to get in the middle of your fight with your uncle."

"We're not fighting." Jack rolled his eyes. With a sigh, he added, "He took me to his publisher today."

"Oh, really?" Hiccup asked curious. "How did that go?"

"The place is the same as any other stuck-up publishing house. But I feel like I understand why North likes it so much."

"Why?"

"I think he's banging his editor."

Hiccup gasped and his eyes grew wide at the shocking statement. "What?! Are you serious?"

Jack snorted crossing his arms. "The worst part? She's drop dead gorgeous. And I'm pretty sure she's younger than us."

Hiccup shook his head making small circles with his fingers pressed to his temples. "Okay, now you're shitting with me."

"I wish I was, Third. I wish I was."

"I—I…" Hiccup turned back to look at the city outside. "I'm socked."

"Aren't we all?" Jack mocked staring at the horizon.

"I don't think they can fire you from sleeping with anyone who works there, then."

"I suppose."

"Does this mean you're going to the same publisher as North for real? You know, with a contract and all?"

"I don't know about that," Jack mumbled bitterly. He turned on his heels and leaned his back against the glass.

"Don't you want to keep writing?"

"I don't need a publisher to write."

Hiccup shrugged. "Yeah, but you probably need one to sell books and earn money," he stated, and it hit the nail right on its head.

Jack slid down until he was sitting with his head against the glass wall. He kept staring at the far opposite side of the office with a blank expression.

Hiccup sighed sitting down as well. "Look,"—he put a hand on his friend's shoulder—"you're welcome to stay with me for as long as you want. We'll have to clean my old workshop, though. And you'll have to get along with Toothless."

Jack gave him his best smirk. "I can work with that."

"And Astrid," Hiccup added, and Jack flinched.

"… I make no promises."

* * *

 

It was a mystery how Gobber, a man of questionable table manners, sharp tongue and unusual hygiene habits was able to manage a relatively successful food business. With a modern touch to the traditional Viking cuisine, his restaurant was a one of a kind establishment that every person should visit at least once in their lifetime. A very renowned food critic had once stated that The Forge was like a fresh ocean breeze in the middle of that suffocating concrete jungle they were trapped in with its rustic flavors and curious dishes.

Astrid Hofferson was almost reaching the one year mark as the restaurant's new chef. The Forge wasn't her ideal kitchen—far from it—, but after her last workplace had suddenly bankrupted, she was just glad to get a job still related to the food industry.

Admitedly, she had had her struggles in the path to becoming a chef. She knew nothing about Viking cuisine; she had never been in charge before; she didn't have much experience dealing with picky customers, nor dealing with such so many staff members. But she was young and she learned fast. Astrid was talented, worked hard, and turned out to be a born leader earning her boss' trust and her co-workers' respect.

The kitchen staff was, in fact, leisurely preparing for dinner service at that exact moment. They were all either taking care of their own stations or doing ordinary tasks around the kitchen.

"Behold my latest Tuffnut Thorston—pastry chef extraordinaire—creation!" Tuffnut had a hand in the air and the other holding a plate of what looked like a papier mâché volcano gone very wrong.

Snotlout put his meat knife down and wiped his hands on a towel as he approached the other guy. "What exactly is that?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

"This," Tuffnut said solemnly, "my Snotty and Louty friend, is the greatest, the tastiest, the most incredible dessert ever imagined."

"It looks like yak vomit," Ruffnut, his twin, said poking the food with a spoon.

Tuffnut pushed his sister's head forcefully and gave Snotlout an expectant look. "Would you like to be my taste tester?"

"Do I look like I have a death wish?" Snotlout asked crossing his arms, then waved his hand in Tuffnut's direction. "Give me a spoon."

Tuffnut offered him the cutlery item and Snotlout quickly took it from the other's hand. He dipped the spoon in the dessert and hesitated with it hanging in the air.

"Are you sure about that?" Fishlegs asked apprehensive.

"I'm a Jorgenson," Snotlout said. "Jorgensons have no fear." And he shoved the spoon inside his mouth.

What happened next was that Snotlout immediately froze. His eyes widened and the hand holding the spoon just stood there.

"Snotlout, are you okay?" Astrid asked approaching the rest of the staff.

"I think he's in shock," Ruffnut said waving her hand in front of the paralyzed guy.

Heather picked a clean spoon and poked Tuffnut's dish. "Okay, Tuff. What exactly did you put in that… thing?"

"A cook never reveal his secrets, Heather."

"Don't worry, I got this." Dagur pushed them aside and pulled his shit's sleeves up to his elbows. He took Snotlout by the shoulders and looked at him deep in the eyes. "Hey! Snothead! Snap out of it!"

Dagur raised his hand and slapped Snotlout squarely in the right cheek. The hit echoed making the others flinch and Snotlout cry. He lost his balance and had to grab the counter not to fall straight on the floor.

Snotlout glared at Dagur. "Hey! What is the problem with you?"

"And with that, my job here is done," Dagur said as he left the kitchen and went to the dining room.

"Snotlout," Fishlegs called the other guy putting a hand on his shoulder, "what happened?"

Snotlout pointed at the plate in Tuffnut's hand. "That thing, it's… it's…"

"Revolting?" Astrid suggested.

"Disgusting?" Heather added.

"A one-way ticket to Valhalla?" Ruffnut asked earning her a whack on the head from her brother.

"AMAZING!" Snotlout shouted.

The others stared at him like he had just grown a second head right in front of them.

"It's rich," Snotlout continued making wide gestures with his hands, "it's sweet, with a little bit of bitterness from the chocolate… and did you put chili powder in it?"

Tuffnut smiled at him smugly. "A little bit, maybe."

"Can I have another bite?" Snotlout's eyes were shining like those of a small child.

"Suit yourself." Tuffnut pushed the dish in his coworker's direction. "What about the rest of you?"

"Oh, well." Fishlegs closed his eyes before slowly putting a spoonful of Tuff's new concoction inside his mouth.

"Bottoms up," Ruff mumbled with a shrug. Then, she seemed to have the same gustatory experience as Snotlout. "Wow."

"Not as bad as it looks," Heather commented licking her spoon.

"I know, right?" Snotlout said going for another bite.

Astrid cleaned her spoon and threw it in the sink. "I must admit, Tuff. You're on the right path with this." She stared at his dish for a moment before adding, "Just figure a way to make it look like actual food, and who knows, maybe we can add it to the menu."

"I shall work on that." Tuffnut jumped up and ran back to his station letting the rest of the staff members gorging themselves.

Astrid went to the fridge and took a jug of water out of it. As she turned around, she saw Heather walking in her direction with two clean glasses.

"So it's been almost a year since we started living together," she commented holding out the glasses.

"That long?" Astrid asked pouring the water. "I've been working here in the Forge for a year already?"

"Time flies." Heather took a sip of her beverage. "We should celebrate."

"If you say so."

"I do. How about today?"

Astrid snorted staring at the other woman. "Are you kidding me? We have work tomorrow."

"Just a couple of beers. You and me. Maybe Fish. Super chill stuff."

"Can't." Astrid let out a heavy sigh. "I have to help my boyfriend's stupid roommate move in."

"You're such a bummer," Heather said with a pout.

"Hey, ask Fishlegs if you wanna go out so much," Astrid challenged with a raised eyebrow.

Heather gave her a nonchalant shrug. "Maybe I will."

"Just make sure you have your keys. I don't wanna have to open the door in the middle of the night for you," Astrid mocked.

"That's not funny," Heather said glaring at the blonde girl in front of her. "And I only forgot my keys twice."

"That's a lie and you know it," Astrid stated. Then, she pointed at the doors. "Oh, look, he's leaving. Now's your chance."

"Astrid—"

"Hey, Fish!" she shouted at the same time as she pushed Heather in the guy's direction.

Heather stumbled a few steps and glared at Astrid from over her shoulder.

"Heather?" Fishlegs called her curiously.

"Hi…" Heather tucked a strand of her ebony hair behind her ear. "Are you going back to your desk?"

Fishlegs nodded. "I am. I have some work to do."

"I'll walk with you," Heather said and headed out through the kitchen's doors not giving him time to protest.

Fishlegs shrugged and went after her. "Okay…"

Astrid watched their exchange with a smug, satisfied expression on her face. She took another sip of water…

"I see what you did there."

… And almost choked at the voice coming right from behind her.

Astrid coughed leaning forward holding the wall. She felt her eyes watering up as she glared at the blonde guy watching her.

"Holy shit, Tuff!" she snapped. "Don't sneak up on me, dumbass."

"I just needed some mayo," he said going to the fridge and looking through its contents.

Astrid frowned. Tuffnut did desserts. He was in charge of sweet stuff. What would he possibly need mayo for? Then, she remembered. It was Tuff. Weirder things were found in the middle of his dishes before. And she shrugged. "I don't even care."

"That's an intriguing combination you got there," Tuff commented casually as he closed the fridge door with a jar of mayo in hand.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're trying to push a Mister Fishlegs and a Miss Heather together."

A shadow darkened Astrid's eyes as the most devious grin formed on her face as a memory came to her mind.

"It's called payback, bitch."

* * *

 

Hiccup's apartment was a fancy place. All furniture was black with stainless steel details. There was a sexy bar separating the kitchen area from the living room. The kitchen was minimalist with not much paraphernalia visible besides a coffee maker and some dirty dishes. In the living room, a beautiful 75-inches 4K TV that Hiccup never used because he was always busy with work stood forgotten. A tall window with heavy curtains that were seldom closed because Hiccup very much enjoyed the view of tiny cars down on the streets allowed the outside light to enter the apartment. There was a master bedroom, one bathroom for guests and the old spare room Hiccup had turned into a makeshift working space, then turned into a storage room, and now turned into Jack's temporary lair.

Hiccup also had a German Sheppard, aka Hiccup's best friend, aka Toothless, or as Jack used to call him back in high school when they were still tiptoeing around each other, Helldog.

"Hiya buddy!" Jack kneeled as Toothless came running to greet him and jumped on his back legs stretching to lick the silver-haired guy's face. "I missed you too."

Hiccup laughed from the corner of the room as he watched the scene. "Wow. Tongue kisses. Didn't know you shared such a steamy romance."

"Well, you should know by now that Toothless likes me better," Jack said with a smirk.

Hiccup shook his head walking to the old spare room. "Are we cleaning your room or what?"

Jack stood up and followed his friend. "Right behind you."

Hiccup's storage room was a complete chaos. There were heavy books piled up, a dusty leather massage chair that probably had never been used was in one corner, at least twenty black garbage bags and thirty cardboard boxes filled with unknown content were thrown around the room, dangerous-looking tools hung on the wall, and a ladder stood half-buried in the middle of the room.

It was hard to believe that he had been living in that apartment for less than five years, considering the amount of junk he had collected.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Third," Jack hissed under his breath.

"Yeah, I'm a little bit of a hoarder," Hiccup admitted sheepishly.

"A little bit?"

"I'm pretty sure there was a couch in here…" the auburn-haired guy mumbled as he stepped inside the room.

Jack sighed. Even in the current state, his new room was still better than spending another night under his uncle's roof, so he should get to work.

And he did. He worked his ass off emptying cardboard boxes and sorting out things that Hiccup still needed and things that he still needed, but Jack convinced him to throw anyway. They had cleared a good area of the room already, at least one third of it. They had found the couch—which was actually a sofa bed, and all the old books from when Hiccup still worked at Robinson Industries had been put out for recycling.

"Check this out!" Hiccup shouted at some point.

Jack stopped what he was doing and looked back at his friend. Hiccup was sitting on the floor with what looked like a leather notebook in hands.

"What?"

"It's my old inventions sketchbook!" Hiccup shook the item excitedly. "I had totally forgotten this!"

"Which means it goes in the garbage, Hiccup," Jack told him shoving the garbage back in his direction.

"No way!" Hiccup held the notebook closer to himself. "You gave me this!"

"I did?" Jack asked confused.

"You did. When we started college. On my birthday. You said I should put my ideas on paper so I wouldn't forget."

Jack frowned. He did have some recollection of such memory. In his defense, college years were a hazy mess, and he couldn't remember much of anything.

"Oh. Sounds familiar." Jack nodded. "That was actually something North taught me when I first moved in with him," he said as he sat down next to Hiccup. "He gave me a journal and told me to write something."

"Do you still have that journal?" Hiccup asked excited.

Jack scorned. "Of course not. I threw that shit away as soon as I was out of pages."

"Bu-Why?" Hiccup cried. "That was your beginning as a writer!"

"Sometimes you're too emotional for your own good, Third," Jack mumbled shaking his head. He gestured with his head to the notebook. "So what you got there?"

"Eh." Hiccup shrugged flipping through the pages. "I was a pretty weird kid."

"You still are a pretty weird kid."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "You remember this? I actually built this!"

Jack looked down at the drawing his friend was pointing at. He easily recognized the invention, despite Hiccup's messy notes covering most of the page. "The fireworks shooter?" he asked.

Hiccup nodded.

"Yeah, our room smelled like smoke for weeks," Jack said.

Hiccup frowned. "Okay, I didn't remember that… But it did shoot fireworks when it was done."

Jack laughed. "It was the height of Johnny's party. What else did you draw?"

Hiccup flipped through the pages again reading his old notes and trying to find the best ideas. The next hour was spent with them reminisced their dumb young days. They laughed and talked until their throats went dry, and by the time Hiccup had returned to the room with a couple of cold beers, Jack had scavenged their old yearbook, and another hour soon went by.

They were so engrossed in their nostalgia that they didn't hear the front door opening, nor notice Toothless rushing out of the room to greet the newcomer.

"I thought you two were supposed to be cleaning up," Astrid Hofferson said startling the other two guys.

Hiccup immediately stood up to greet his girlfriend. "Hey, babe," he said kissing her cheek.

"What were you doing sitting on the floor?" she asked.

"We were just going through some stuff we found…" Hiccup mumbled scratching the back of his head.

"Hey, Hofferson." Jack saluted her with a wave of his beer bottle.

She acknowledged him with a nod of her head and a dry, "Frost."

"I think we should get back to work," Hiccup suggested.

"You do that," Astrid agreed.

Under Astrid's stern supervision, they ended cleaning the rest of the room surprisingly fast. All the trash was thrown and all the memorabilia Hiccup managed to salvage was hid in his own room. Useful things were put in their rightful places, and all there was left was to bring in Jack's possessions.

"Is this really all?" Hiccup asked as they carried Jack's two bags and one suitcase into the room.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure whatever was in my apartment is decomposing in a dumping ground ever since my landlord decided to evict me. And the things I don't really use that I managed to not destroy are still at North's place."

"I guess that's it, then," Astrid said as she dropped one of the bags on the floor.

"I'm exhausted," Hiccup sighed sitting on the couch.

"Same." Jack sat next to his friend leaning his head against the backrest and closing his eyes. As an incredible idea came to him, he looked up at Astrid with his best smile on his face. "Hey, Astrid. Almost five months is a really long time to go without your amazing food."

Astrid crossed her arms. "Is that your way of asking me to cook for you?"

"Did it work?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm going home," she said leaving the room. "Maybe another day."

"Can you at least order us some pizza then?"

"Order it yourself!" Astrid shouted from the other room making Jack whine in defeat.

Hiccup laughed patting Jack on the knee.

"Come on, I think Tony's is still open."

Jack moaned. He could smell the tomato sauce and soft cheese melting in his tongue. His mouth started salivating. "Is their pizza still as good as I remember?"

"Oh, buddy. It's even better."

* * *

 


End file.
